The Hidden Costs of Being a Woman
The Hidden Costs of Being a Woman
Earlier this year, the FINRA Investor Education Foundation made a surprising announcement: Women, it turns out, pay higher interest rates on credit cards than men do. It’s just a half-point difference, but the study points out that over a lifetime, women could pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars more to borrow money than men.
The study also finds that women with low levels of financial literacy are particularly vulnerable to credit card mismanagement. They are more likely to carry a balance on their cards, pay only the minimum, and pay late fees than men with low levels of financial literacy. At the same time, low-financial literacy women are also less likely to embrace positive credit card behaviors, such as comparison shopping for cards.
Women face other financial disadvantages, too: An analysis of new Census Bureau data by the National Partnership for Women & Families found that in almost every congressional district in the country, men out-earn women. In Washington, D.C., for example, the median woman’s salary is 90 percent of the median man’s salary, which adds up to a $6,428 annual difference. Across the country, women earn 77 percent of men’s salaries, which adds up to an $11,084 annual difference.
Marie Claire also recently pointed out that women pay more for everything from dry-cleaning to health insurance to shampoo. “We lose out in nearly every transaction we make,” writes Lea Goldman.